NIH Director’s Blog, 10 November 2015 In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk about…

US Healthcare Costs Grew 5.28% in 2011

John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, February 22, 2012.

The average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by Medicare programs and commercial insurance grew by 5.28 % in 2011, nearly double the rate of inflation in the larger economy, Standard & Poor’s Healthcare Economic Indices show.

A further breakdown of S&P data shows that healthcare costs covered by commercial insurance plans grew by 7.11% in 2011, while Medicare claim costs rose by 2.51%, despite the government plans’ older and sicker population.

Healthcare costs easily outpaced the 3% growth in overall inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for 2011, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Read More